Miramar Studies Affordable Housing For Future Workers

The city will have to answer that question with an affordable housing study this year.

The issue is tied to Miramar`s plans for a new urban center west of Palm Avenue.

These plans, approved by the City Commission on March 17, call for the development of new industries, businesses and homes on 1,883 acres of land up to the year 2014.

Workers hired to fill new jobs created by this development may need to relocate. Two agencies want to know if low- and moderate-wage earners will find an affordable place to live.

The South Florida Regional Planning Council and the state Department of Community Affairs must approve the East Miramar Areawide Development of Regional Impact, and have required the housing study.

The planning council and city already have clashed over who should control the affordable housing study.

``If they (the planning council) have ultimate say, it takes away the local government`s powers of zoning and development regulations,`` said Miramar planner David Stein.

The planning council has argued it should have final say over the housing study`s design and its recommendations.

``The issue is regional in scope and needs to be addressed within a regional framework,`` said Planning Council Executive Director Carolyn Dekle in an Oct. 21 letter to Miramar Mayor Vicki Coceano.

Dekle was out of town this week and could not be asked if this is still the council`s position. Its board of directors is expected to vote on the entire Miramar project on May 3.

A 1989 consultants study projected 26,896 new direct jobs in the Miramar DRI area over 25 years. The study estimated that 77 percent of these jobs will pay annual salaries under $25,000.

A family earning $25,000 a year can`t afford to pay more than $62,500 for a home, or more than $650 a month in rent, planners estimate.

Based on these estimates, the council concluded that more than half of these employees would be unable to afford new housing in the area. The DRI projects 5,460 new homes and apartments, ranging from $50,000 to $125,000.

But Miramar planners say these numbers are only estimates. Projections on employees earning $25,000 a year, for example, do not take into account a working spouse who augments the family income.

City planner Stein believes the answer will come from the market. If developers perceive the demand, they will build more affordable housing. Miramar also may have a pool of older and lower-priced homes on the market.

Stein said the city wants to strike a balance in housing prices, and retain control over the planning.